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They evolved through mutations and natural selection, of course.

First change:

1. The "primordial soup" became less "soupy" and more "watery" as protobionts got better at incorporating the organic materials into their structures.

Later changes:

2. With oxygenic photosynthesis, oxygen combined with dissolved iron in the oceans. The oxidized material (mostly hematite and magnetite) precipitated out and are found as "banded iron formations" today.

3. With oxygenic photosynthesis, eventually enough oxygen gas was released that it significantly changed the overall makeup of the atmosphere. With free oxygen, an "ozone layer" formed, helping to protect the earth's surface from solar ultraviolet.

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